TERRIERS NIP TIGERS AT THE WIRE 62-61

Cape Girardeau Central and Ross Conner let one get away, literally.

Conner, who scored a team-high 18 points for the Tigers, lost control of an offensive rebound as time expired and Carbondale escaped with 62-61 win at the Tiger Field House Tuesday night.

The loss, which featured a dizzying finish in the final minute, dropped Central to 5-7 on the season.

On Cape's final possession, senior forward/point guard Kelly Illers rushed the ball up the court and, with a hand in his face, put up a reasonable shot from about six feet.

The shot was strong off the backboard. Conner then controlled the rebound on the left block, turned to put up the shot, and had the ball shoot straight up out of his hands.

"He got in the paint," Central coach Brett Reutzel said of Illers' shot. "We got a shot and an offensive rebound. I wanted Kelly to go all the way to the glass. He did fine. We've just got to get better."

The Tigers took their first lead of the fourth quarter with a dramatic series of events.

Down 58-54 with :46 seconds left, Conner cut the lead to two on a layup.

Carbondale's Estus Hood responded with a fast-break layup with :36 left.

But Central guard Eric Wessel drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with :24.7 left. Wessel, who scored 13 points, then came up with an immediate steal and hit a short runner with :14 left to give Central a 61-60 lead.

Carbondale's Billy Harris, a 6-foot-4 senior forward/center, answered with a fast-break layup with :10 remaining to account for the final margin. The shot allowed Cape one last chance, though.

"I believe in a situation like that if you call a time out it allows them to set up in a defense," Carbondale coach Jim Miller said. "We got them caught up in a transition game and that's exactly what we wanted. And, hopefully by this time of year, kids recognize who needs the basketball. Billy is the one we want taking that last shot."

Although Conner was the last to touch the ball, it was the team's effort at the foul line that was responsible for the loss.

The Tigers made just 6-of-14 free throws.

"We didn't shoot as well as we'd like, but we still had a shot at the end of the game," said Reutzel. "You don't ever want to point to one particular player or one particular play."

Illers, a 6-3 forward who played point guard with a sore ankle, scored 14 points.

Harris scored a game-high 20 to lead Carbondale (7-2), followed by T.J. Silas and Kevin Brown, who each had 11; and Jarvis Rivers, who put in 10.

The Terriers, who had five dunks in the game, trailed 28-24 at halftime but outscored Central 22-14 in the third to take a 46-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

Carbondale's biggest lead of the game was eight, 42-34 in the third quarter. Central's biggest lead was six, 28-22, just before halftime.